Elliot was lying through his teeth, but Ben had no reply.Of all the years they had known each other, Ben had never once seen Elliot in a sweater.Although, perhaps a sweater that Avery knitted for him was much more meaningful than one that was bought with money."Your mom called me saying your nephew was discharged from the hospital," Ben said. "She wants you to go home for dinner tonight.""She can tell me that herself," Elliot said."Did she upset you recently? She was pretty cautious when she talked to me earlier. Don't be mad at your mom, Elliot. There's nothing like a mother's love in this world—""Please stop talking."Ben burst into laughter."Do you want to go back to the old mansion for dinner with Avery?"Elliot thought for a moment, then said, "Didn't you say she's been busy knitting?""That's true! There's only a week left. I wonder how she's doing."…When Elliot arrived at the old mansion that night, Rosalie was beside herself with joy.Everyone else, on the
Cole's previous debt with the loan shark had forced Henry to lose a huge sum of money."Let's accept it since Elliot offered!" Henry's wife, Olivia, chimed in. "We're one family, there's no need to feel embarrassed."Henry's face turned crimson. He picked up the check and said, "You don't need to do this again, Elliot.""I'm done eating," Elliot said. "I'll leave now."Rosalie got up and sent him off.Once they were out of the house, Cole slammed the spoon to the ground."Dad! Why did you take his money?!" He felt humiliated.He hated being treated like charity."How dare you, you spineless piece of sh*t?!" Henry roared furiously. "Return to me three million dollars that I had spent to discharge your loan if you can!" Olivia also chimed in, "Your uncle may look down on us, but there's no reason to reject free money! Do you know how much he just gave us? Eight hundred thousand dollars! Your dad's company don't even make that much in a year!""Is our situation really that bad?
Elliot glanced up at Avery's face, then said in a hoarse voice, "Thank you."The sweater felt more comfortable and warm than he had expected.Avery was shocked by how good he looked in it.She could not decide if it was the quality of the sweater, or if he was just that good looking.She picked up the paper bag and pulled out a gift box."I also got you this just in case you didn't like the sweater," she said.Elliot stared at the box in her hand."It's a lighter," Avery explained quickly. "I didn't know what else to get you so I got this. It's practical and you could probably use it. You shouldn't smoke too much, though. It's bad for you."Then, she placed the box in Elliot's hands.Elliot opened the box, pulled out the lighter, and sparked a light."I'm not a heavy smoker," he said in a sultry voice. "I only smoke when I'm stressed out."Avery's brows raised in surprise as she said, "You were always smoking when I was living at your place.""That's because you were always
"I have no idea," Elliot said. "Don't worry about them.""Let's get a bigger one, then!" Avery said. "Ten inches, maybe?"Elliot turned to the shop assistant and said, "Ten inches.""Sure thing. Are you guys on a date? You look cute together," said the shop assistant with a smile.A wave of embarrassment washed over Avery's face, turning her porcelain skin ruby red.On the other hand, Elliot glanced at the desserts on display and asked, "Do you want to get anything else to bring home?""It's fine…" Avery answered."Go ahead and get something for your mother."Avery noticed the rosy tint in Elliot's cheeks, chuckled to herself, then said, "Sure! I'll get something."They left the bakery an hour later.Elliot was holding the cake with an uncomfortable expression on his face.There were not many people out on the streets.The temperature outside was around 41 degrees Fahrenheit, but the warmth from the sprouting love helped him fight the cold.When they arrived at the restaur
Soon after, Elliot opened his eyes and blew out the candles on the cake.The curtains were pulled back, and light flooded the room once more. "What did you wish for, Elliot?" Ben asked with a grin."Do you always reveal your birthday wishes to people?" Elliot countered.The room burst into laughter.Elliot cut a slice of cake and placed it in front of Avery."You should eat the first slice," Avery said as she pushed the cake back to him."I can't eat that much," Elliot replied.He picked up a fork, took a bite out of the slice, and pushed it back to Avery.It was as if a giant pink heart popped up between them, engulfed them, and separated them from the rest of the room.The crowd began to roar and make fun of them."Should we start calling Miss Tate Mrs. Foster now?""Why don't you give it a try? I don't think the boss would mind!""Hahaha! Miss Tate wouldn't mind either, right?"…Avery was so embarrassed and uncomfortable that her ears and the back of her neck turned
At the door to the guest room, Avery said, "I'll take you back to the room. I can come back here to rest after that. I'll join you after I wake up."Elliot entered the room and said, "I'm tired, too."Avery was stunned."You didn't eat anything! You should go eat—""Drop it. Get some rest."How could Avery possibly drop this?She did not feel good about letting him starve on his birthday.She rushed back to the private room to get Elliot something to eat.Everyone in the room happily helped her."Get some more meat, Miss Tate! You have to make sure he eats it all! He lost so much weight after his accident.""We'll leave the boss to you, Miss Tate! Take care of him for us!""Get some rest after you eat, Miss Tate. We won't bother you at all!"…Avery left the room with flushed cheeks and returned to the guest room with a tray of food.Elliot was texting someone.Avery placed the tray of food in front of him."Don't you want to take the sweater off? It looks like you're s
The boom of a gunshot pierced through the night followed immediately by the sound of car tires coming to a screeching halt.Avery felt like her eardrums were about to burst as she held tightly onto Elliot.Tears were streaming down her face as her body shook uncontrollably.The tires of the black sedan had been blown up. It had swerved and crashed into the cotton candy stand that Avery had purchased cotton candy from. Elliot had his arms wrapped around Avery as he watched coldly the car from the corner of his eyes.Someone was trying to kill him but had failed.Then came the sound of another gunshot.This time the bullet had hit the driver's seat. Avery and Elliot were surrounded by cries of terror as people scattered and sought shelter from the danger.Avery's skin was cold to the touch.Elliot cradled her face in his hands, stared at her terrified face, and said hoarsely, "Don't be scared. It's over now."Avery's chest rose and fell at a frantic pace. Uncertainty flick
Avery placed her phone on the table.Her mouth suddenly felt dry, so she picked up the bowl of soup that Ben had passed her.Ben knocked on the table, then said, "Hey! Do you two think we don't know you're secretly texting each other right now?"Avery was afraid that Elliot would blurt out something shocking, so she quickly said, "We're both full now, so we're heading home!""Sure! We're full too," Ben teased. "Full from watching your PDA!"…Rosalie heard the news of the assassination attempt on Elliot and rushed through the night to the Foster mansion.Her face turned cold at the sight of Avery."When Mr. Foster was about to get hit by the car earlier, Miss Avery threw herself at him and wrapped him in her arms!"The bodyguard had witnessed the entire scene and felt obligated to report what he saw to Rosalie."If I hadn't shot its tires, the car would have crashed right into them. Miss Avery would have been crushed to a pulp and died on the spot. However, her shielding Mr.